An intriguing teaser has surfaced on the official Goddess of Victory: NIKKE lounge and Blabla boards. It’s a preview for a bunny girl event scheduled for September, featuring a costume that doesn't belong to any known Nikke, accompanied by some rather mysterious silhouettes. Naturally, the community has descended into a frenzy, debating who might be donning the outfit. I’m just as curious to see who the protagonist will be. Here is the summary of the official news and community buzz from the final week of August.

NEW BUNNY GIRL

The teaser image shows a bunny girl outfit draped over a mannequin. The four-leaf clover on the bunny ears and the spectacles visible in the background shadow are the primary clues. Players are currently betting on Ade or Mana as the top contenders. We shall have to wait and see which Nikke steps into the role.

I can't seem to craft Tove's Treasure Item

Have you finished building your new Treasure Items? These are powerful upgrades obtained by maxing out SR-grade collectibles to level 15, pushing a character's performance to the absolute limit. In some cases, a single Treasure Item can catapult a Nikke straight to top-tier status, which is why most players are pouring their resources into crafting them.

Amidst this, a user named 'JJ NI' on Blabla posted a query regarding their struggle to craft a Treasure Item. They had reached level 15 on the collectible, yet the craft option remained locked. It turns out the issue was that their Bond rank was stuck at 10. Bond ranks are tied to a character's Limit Break status; you need to reach 2-star Limit Break to unlock the higher Bond caps. Crafting a Treasure Item requires a Bond level of 30. As a tip, Tove’s spare bodies are currently available in the shop for 200 Silver Mileage, so keep that in mind.

Liter vs. Rouge

The most critical component in squad composition is 'Burst cooldown reduction'. Even with a 20-second buffer, the game doesn't allow for continuous Full Burst cycles without this skill. Consequently, a buffer's viability is often defined by whether or not they possess this ability.

A discussion recently popped up on the lounge comparing Liter and Rouge. Both have distinct trade-offs. Liter hits peak cooldown reduction after triggering Full Burst three times, while Rouge activates her effect after eight full-charge attacks. Furthermore, Liter focuses on simple attack buffs, whereas Rouge leans into maximum HP buffs.

The community suggests choosing your buffer based on your existing roster. Rouge pairs well with HP-scaling Nikkes like Cinderella and 2B. If your Cinderella is well-built, Rouge is a solid choice; otherwise, the versatile Liter remains the go-to recommendation. Of course, both are top-tier performers, so using whichever you pull first is always a safe bet.

Maid Bunny Girl 'Soda: Twinkling Bunny'

Today, I’m introducing Soda: Twinkling Bunny (hereafter referred to as Bunny Soda). Released during the 2024 bunny girl event, this variant features an outfit that is hard to look away from, combined with a sunny smile that has clearly fueled the desires of Commanders everywhere. The touch animation, to say the least, is quite something.

Bunny Soda gains additional effects based on 'Golden Chip' buffs. Skill 1, 'Lucky Golden Chip', assists in stacking these. During Full Burst, a stack is added every three normal attacks, up to a maximum of 50. At level 10, each stack grants 1.32% critical damage, capping at 66%.

Skill 2, 'Beginner's Benefit', applies sub-effects based on the number of Golden Chip stacks. Upon entering Burst Stage 3, having 10+ stacks extends Full Burst duration by 2 seconds, and 20+ stacks adds another 3 seconds. Additionally, it deals extra damage to the enemy nearest the crosshair during Full Burst.

The Burst skill, 'Go Ahead, Soda!', deals damage to all enemies and grants self-buffs based on the stacks. Having 20+ stacks increases accuracy for 15 seconds, and 30+ stacks boosts attack power. Like Skill 2, the sub-effects apply cumulatively. Note that using the Burst skill consumes 17 stacks, so you'll need to rebuild them using Skill 1.

Bunny Soda is useful for cycle management due to the Full Burst duration extension in Skill 2. As there isn't a shotgun buffer with cooldown reduction yet, players often use mercenaries like Rouge or D: Killer Wife as 'totems'. Without these skills, there's a 4-5 second gap in the Full Burst cycle, which Bunny Soda helps bridge.

However, her standing has been slightly shaken since the summer event following the release of the high-performance shotgun Nikke, Dorothy: Serendipity. A new meta is emerging that swaps out Bunny Soda for totem-based cooldown reducers. That said, Bunny Soda remains highly relevant, especially in the Arena, where her high self-buffs and screen-wide burst continue to shine.

As a member of the Maid For You squad, Soda works as a server at the Maid Cafe. Upon discovering the cafe is facing bankruptcy due to mounting debt, Soda enters an event hosted by Mustang. Thanks to Alice's recommendation, Soda dons the bunny girl outfit. While Soda didn't win first place, the public's reaction to the appearance led to a massive influx of customers, resulting in a happy ending for the business.

As mentioned, a new bunny girl event is arriving this September. Historically, these events feature both new and returning bunny girls, so it’s a fair bet we’ll see Bunny Soda again. I’m certainly looking forward to seeing how the new bunny girl gels with the existing cast.

Last time, we held a balance debate: Three Major Corporations vs. Central Government. The result was a 6:4 split in favor of the corporations. While it’s essentially a battle between corporate giants and bureaucrats, most users preferred joining the corporations as recruits. To be fair, the Central Government remains shrouded in mystery, while the corporations have been central to the story and are more familiar to the players. That familiarity likely swayed the vote.